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“Quite good peat monster. This peat of Bruichladdich is something awesome. Don't miss the chance of tasting the cask strength version.”

91

2010's release of Port Charlotte is a departure from previous years in two significant ways: as a multi-vintage vatting and being bottled at 46% rather than the humungous cask strength of the earlier PC's. An Turas Mor ("The Great Journey", it says here) is intended as a coming-of-age PC, and, it is claimed, fulfils Jim McEwan's original vision for the brand.

“Sweet peat-ambrosy. I have enjoyed this one even more than Octomore.”

92

The new Port Charlotte from Bruichladdich is here, arriving the same week that it was named Best Whisky at the 2009 Whisky Fringe in Edinburgh. Last year's PC7 was regarded as a return to form, it looks like this is another improvement.

“Lovely whisky from Compass Box. This Flaming Heart is very nice but the 4th release is even better”

90

Bottled to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Compass Box whisky company, for whom the epithets 'tireless', 'innovative' and 'pioneering' might have been invented, this Flaming Heart is a vatting of Highland Malt from a village near Brora (nudge, nudge), with some smoky Island/Islay malts. The label and packaging, it goes without saying, are stunning. Bottled at a good natural drinking strength, this should be fabulous.

“Lots of sherry inside this Old Pulteney whisky. Interesting nose but I don't think this is the best whisky of 2012.”

89

Bottled unchillfiltered, this is much more intense than you usually find with Pulteney. Lots of gingery, peppery spices on the palate. We always thought this was very good, but Jim Murray just declared it the best whisky in the world!

No, not my own awards, we don’t need yet another whisky awards. I have been doing some research and after hard working for the last four days I have coded a page where you can browse the most prestigious world whisky awards( if I am missing one please write me ). Well, the result is in the Whisky Awards page or in the Recommended menu of the top bar.

You have a list of awards sorted by year and once you click you can see the results.Unfortunately, by now, you can only see the bottles that I own. I plan to fix this problem/feature during Christmas. By the way, do you think Santa will have room in his sled for so many bottles?

I have never realized how many medals whisky awards give. In fact the most “serious” is Malt Maniacs Awards and they give around 100-130 medals to the whiskies in the competition. What do you think? Would be good to do this in another way?

We are getting nearer to Christmas, you know, and winter is coming, so it is really better to get well supplied with only the best whisky.
This is the result of my two orders to Master of Malt and The Whisky Exchange.

In this batch I have bought several interesting bottles. I am really proud of Compass Box Last Vatted Malt, which sounds a delicious proposal, Rumbullion by Master of Malt and the set of samples from Feis Ile festivals also made by Master of Malt.

“Not like a Gin at all. It is floral and sweet with big malty notes.”

There are two types of Dutch gin: Oude or “old” relates to the old recipe. Jonge
(young or new recipe) Jenever is contains only up to 5% malt spirit and is
cleaner, drier and lighter.

Schiedam in South Holland, was famous for its jenever and this is where De
Kuyper is based.

Jenever has always played an important role in De Kuyper’s history especially as
it was the company’s sole product for many centuries.

De Kuyper Jenever is a blend of malt spirit, with juniper berries and other herbs.
No ageing has taken place other than a marriage period of several weeks in the
blending vats. De Kuyper Jenever combines the best characteristics of both Jonge
and Oude Jenever.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (83): average.
floral, juniper, parfum.

Palate (86): oily.
malt, juniper, wood, a little sweet.

Finish (82): average.
floral, malt.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Oude De Kuyper with 84 points over 100.

“I am not a big fan of this style of gins. But on its own style it is a wise choice.”

82

An extraordinary gin, produced by the enigmatic Professor Cornelius Ampleforth. Made using the traditional method of Cold Compounding (or in layman’s terms – infusing). Very high quality copper pot-still spirit is infused with ingredients including Juniper, Orange Peel, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cloves and Cardamom.

This dram has a white-like color.

Nose (84): more than average.
juniper, lemon, herbal.
Like every gin out there but a clearer juniper and lemon aroma. I am not a big fan of this style of drinks.

Palate (81): light, dry.
lemon, juniper, herbal.

Finish (80): average.
juniper, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bathtub Gin with 82 points over 100.

A more recent release from the Auchentoshan distillery, replacing the previous staple 10 year old, this 12 year old bottling exhibits the new, slightly Imperial aesthetics Auchentoshan have rebranded themselves with.

“Incrediblely old whisky with a great nose. Like nosing an old wood wardrobe full of flowers. Very good whisky.”

92

A beautiful 40 year old vintage Glen Garioch, bottled by the folks at Morrison Bowmore for The Whisky Exchange and released at The Whisky Show in 2011. 1971 Glen Garioch is known for being more peaty than usual, and this delicate, restrained old school dram has a lovely thread of smoke, plus tropical fruit and medicine cabinet aromas. Fabulous.

“Rather good whisky that really shows its age. Just a bit more sweet and it would have been a mindblowing dram.”

90

The 4th edition of Master of Malt stunning 30 year old single malt from a secret Speyside distillery. After a slightly lighter 3rd edition, this is a return to sherried form, boasting a rich, unctuous sherry flavour, and an intensely dark hue.

This dram has a mahogany-like color.

Nose (90): strong.
nuts, dates, figs, leather, wood, citrus.

Palate (90): oily.
honey, tobacco, leather, nuts, floral, citrus.

Finish (90): long.
nuts, leather, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Master of Malt 30 year Speyside 4th edition with 90 points over 100.

After several weeks wanting to taste it I finally have the chance.
Rumbullion is a rum liqueur made by Professor Cornelius Ampleforth and bottled and sold by the chaps at Master of Malt.

So taking as a base a good dark rum they have added orange peels, clove, vanilla and cinnamon to obtain this drink.

Excited? You are right. This drink is a cracker. So good in fact that I have done myself the experiment with two bottles of Laphroaig 10 years old Cask Strength. I will write about this crazy experiment of my later.

“Perhaps this is not the best rum I have had but it is quite an experience. Really tasty and delightful. I like it a lot.”

87

A sure-fire hit from Professor Cornelius Ampleforth, Rumbullion! is a cockle-warming spiced concoction, based on the kind of rich, full-bodied rums the seafaring fraternity would have enjoyed centuries ago.

At the core of this fabulous winter warmer lies a blend of the very finest high proof Caribbean rum, to which was added creamy Madagascan vanilla and a generous helping of zesty orange rind. A secret recipe was followed, and the Professor finished his hearty tipple with a handful of cinnamon and cloves and just a hint of cardamom.

“Great fruity flavor! And what about that peat... oh my God! Why did they close it?”

93

Part of a series of seven releases that Diageo does from the Brora distillery, this is the fourth release of Brora 30 year old and was launched in 2005.

There are some cereal notes, with oily spice and a nice breath of smoke.

Brora distillery was closed in 1983 and it is now lost. So these series of cask strength bottles are what it is left of the stocks of this once great distillery that was put out of business mainly by Clynelish, built in front of Brora.

“A heavy sherry influence on the whisky. Almost there.”

86

A bottling with casks from different years, inspired by the famous non-vitange offerings from champagne. Keir found the following: "Werther’s originals. Soot. Rum and raisin. Some solventy notes contributing to good complexity. Soft. Creamy, lots of vanilla. Very pleasant!’ Natural colour.

“No peat on the nose and a bit light taste but such great finish...”

88

Step into the dark side with this peaty yet delicately sweet whisky from the Famous Grouse. Named after the rare bird, the Black Grouse. The Black Grouse is a no-nonsense drink, with a strong and sweet opening thanks to the Islay malts and a gentle and aromatic finish.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (89): strong.
peaches, floral, citrus, honey, wood, spices.

Palate (85): light.
peat, citrus, wood.

Finish (89): longer than average.
peat, citrus, earth, floral.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Black Grouse with 88 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

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Best Cask Innovation Award

Best Peated Malt Award

Thumbs Up Award

Daily Drams Category

Here are the whiskies that are affordable and easy to find. I am happy to see that I have already tried many of them in my own.
Here you can get excellent ideas for that Christmas present you wanted to buy.

“Like a bourbon but with less flavour.”

85

Made from grain spirit and matured in oak casks before being gently chill filtered, the light and vanilla-sweet Snow Grouse whisky has a smooth taste. With a "sweet gloopy mouth-feel, it has a cool taste sensation when served seriously chilled"

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (85): strong.
peaches, vanilla, honey, corn, floral.

Palate (85): light, powerful.
honey, corn, wood, vanilla, spices.

Finish (85): average.
corn, honey, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Snow Grouse with 85 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

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“Nice but a hell more subtle than Yamazaki. Although Hakushu single malt is supposed to be peated I get no peat on this one”

89

A perennial favourite and a must-try for anyone interested in discovering Japanese whisky. Hakushu is owned by Suntory, founders of the first Japanese distillery, Yamazaki. The original Hakushu distillery was built in 1973, with another distillery building called Hakushu Higashi (west) added in 1981.

This dram has a gold-like color.

Nose (89): more than average.
honey, floral, citrus, peat, wax.
Interesting but more subtle than Yamazaki.

“Rather interesting nose with a great taste of honey and peat. Lots of spices swimming in this whisky.”

90

A top-quality malt from the Miyagikyo distillery (also sometimes known as Sendai). A previous batch of this managed a hugely impressive 92 points from Jim Murray. This malt has a wonderful fruity character.

“Really delicate nose with an outstanding taste and a long a delicious finish. If only this whisky were done for humans being like you and me...”

91

Thirty year old Macallan is a rare and rarefied whisky. The time spent maturing in carefully selected European and American oak casks which have previously held Sherry or Bourbon creates a rich, intense liquid, with a deep colour achieved wholly naturally through the interaction between spirit and wood.

About

Welcome to A Wardrobe of Whisky. I am Miguel.

This whisky blog is a way of handling my collection of single malts, find easily the best buy whisky prices for top online shops and a quest for finding the ultimate
single malt and the joys of failing the task.